The trade deadline is tomorrow at 4 P.M. Eastern, and there's a whole lot of talk involving the Dodgers. Let's break it down player by player.
(Note: all of the below rumors are courtesy of MLBTradeRumors.com, an excellent baseball site, especially this time of year.)
Ryan Dempster - I guess we all should have known not to declare a deal is done before all parties involved make it official. Hence the case with Dempster last week when he nixed a trade to the Braves, mostly because he wants to be a Dodger. So for that I say... good for him! Ha!
Anyway, the latest reports say that the Cubs and Dodgers are trying very hard to make a deal happen. The Dodgers did not want to offer pitching prospect Allen Webster in the deal before, which held everything up. There's also talk of Alfonso Soriano being involved, which makes sense considering his massive contract.
As great as Chad Billingsley and Stephen Fife have looked the last couple of starts, there's no denying that Dempster would be a big upgrade in the rotation. A playoff rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Chris Capuano, Dempster, and Harang would be sweet.
Justin Morneau - There was some interest here, but the Twins no longer appeared interested. The Dodgers moved Nathan Eovaldi in the Hanley Ramirez deal, and since the Twins want a starting pitcher, there's really no match anymore.
Morneau has gone from budding superstar and AL MVP in 2006 to an injury-plagued question mark, all thanks to the dreaded concussion. He combined to play only 150 games in 2010-2011. This season he's played in 78 games, which shows that maybe he's finally OK, hitting .260 with 13 homers and 46 RBIs.
No disrespect to Morneau, but I don't think the Dodgers should mess with him. Even though he's been healthier this year, I think the Dodgers could do better.
Shane Victorino - Jayson Stark of ESPN stated that the Dodgers appear the favorite to land the Ex-Dodger Victorino. Many teams have been attached to him, but with the Dodgers' willingness to take on money, they suddenly are the frontrunners.
This season hasn't been as kind to Victorino, who's hitting .261 with 9 homers, 40 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases. It's not like he's been bad; he just hasn't been on base as much. But as you see with the steals, he can still fly. Plus, he has plenty of big game experience.
I'll state upfront that I'm just not a Victorino fan. It probably goes back to the playoffs a few years back when he got upset when Hong-Chih Kuo threw at him, despite the Phillies throwing at Manny Ramirez before. The dude has just always bugged me. But with Bobby Abreu really slowing down and Tony Gywnn never getting a hit, he would be a clear upgrade in left. So, reluctantly, I would take him.
Speaking of Gwynn, it looks like either he or Josh Lindblom are names that could go to Philly in return. Fine with me.
Brandon League - The forgotten League has many teams calling up the Mariners for his services. The Dodgers really need bullpen help, especially with Ronald Belisario bumbling in the setup role of late.
After going 37-42 in save situations last year, League lost his closer's role after blowing his fourth save in late May. He actually was figuring things out quite nicely before getting hit around by the Royals on Sunday. Still, since being demoted, he's lowered his ERA from 4.43 to 3.63. Throw out Sunday's game, and his ERA was at 3.05. So there has been clear improvement.
I think League has a lot to offer, so I would jump on a deal. At this point, I'm willing to see anyone pitch in the eighth inning, and he would be the guy. The Dodgers have already added Randy Choate on the left side, and if they get League on the right, that would be another good addition in front of Kenley Jansen.
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